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Selling cleaning products in South Korea

In South Korea, household chemical products such as detergents, cleaners and air fresheners fall under the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Control Act. Products designated for safety verification are tested before manufacture or import and labelled in Korean. Dishwashing and produce detergents are cleansing and hygiene products under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Main law
Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Control Act (생활화학제품 및 살생물제의 안전관리에 관한 법률)
Before manufacture or import
Safety verification by a designated institution, valid three years
Label language
Korean, larger than any other language
Banned claims
"Non-toxic", "environment-friendly" and similar
Dishwashing detergents
Cleansing and Hygiene Products Control Act (MFDS)
Substances
K-REACH registration at 1 tonne a year or more

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the product a designated consumer chemical product, or a cleansing and hygiene product under MFDS? Read more
  2. 2Has a designated institution verified it against the safety standards, and has it been reported? Read more
  3. 3Does the label carry the required information in Korean, in the required form? Read more
  4. 4Does the pack or advert avoid claims such as non-toxic or environment-friendly? Read more
  5. 5Are the chemical substances in it registered or notified under K-REACH? Read more
  6. 6If it is a dishwashing or produce detergent, is the import declared to MFDS? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Which law covers the product

Household chemical products and MFDS cleansing products sit under different Acts.

  • A "daily use consumer chemical product" is a chemical product used in everyday living spaces such as houses, offices or public facilities, likely to expose people or the environment to chemical substances (Article 3, Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Control Act).
  • Products the minister designates and publicly notifies after a risk assessment are subject to safety verification (Articles 3 and 8). The designating notice names items such as cleaners, removers, laundry detergents, bleaching agents, fabric softeners, coatings, adhesives, air fresheners, antifreezes and lubricants.
  • The Act does not apply to food, food apparatus, containers and packages, cosmetics, drugs and quasi-drugs, or cleansing and hygiene products (Article 5).
  • Detergents for washing vegetables and fruit, detergents for food containers and cooking utensils, and dishwasher rinse aids are cleansing and hygiene products under the Cleansing and Hygiene Products Control Act (Article 2).

How we help: Compliant Always records which Act and which item each product falls under, with the specification that places it there. Ask about this

Safety standards and verification

What designated products are tested against, and who tests them.

  • Safety standards set prohibited substances, limits on content, leaching or emission, and container and package standards, including those protecting children (Article 9).
  • A person intending to manufacture or import a designated product obtains verification from a designated testing and inspection institution that it meets the safety standards. Verification is valid for three years, then renewed (Article 10(1) to (3)).
  • After verification, product information, ingredients and content are reported to the minister (Article 10(4)).
  • Where no safety standards have been notified for the item, data on the uses, hazards and exposure of its substances are submitted for approval (Article 10(6)).
  • Child-resistant packaging is defined as packaging that children under five find hard to open within a set time, though adults do not (Notice, Article 2).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each verification and report with the product, dated, and shows which are due for renewal. Ask about this

Labelling and claims

What the label shows, and what it may not say.

  • A designated product is labelled in Korean with its name; the manufacturer's or importer's name, address and contact details; information on its chemical substances; weight or volume; precautions for use; and the reported or approved matters. Chinese characters or a foreign language may be added (Article 10(8)).
  • The Korean text is larger than any other language, on a clear contrasting background, and non-erasable and securely attached (Article 7, Enforcement Decree).
  • Packs and adverts may not use phrases such as "non-toxic" or "environment-friendly", unless the product holds an eco-label certification (Article 34).
  • Only approved biocidal products and treated articles may be labelled or advertised as such (Article 34(2)).

How we help: Compliant Always sets the required information beside what your label shows, and flags phrases the Act restricts. Ask about this

Chemical substances (K-REACH)

Registration of the substances in the product.

  • A person manufacturing or importing 1 tonne or more a year of a chemical substance registers it with the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment before manufacture or import (Article 10, Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances).
  • Phase-in substances have registration grace periods by annual volume, reported in advance; for 1 to 100 tonnes a year the period ends no later than 31 December 2030 (Article 10(2) and (3)).
  • A foreign manufacturer may appoint a representative in Korea to register or report on its behalf (Article 38).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the substance registrations or supplier statements with the formula they cover. Ask about this

Dishwashing and produce detergents (MFDS)

The MFDS rules for cleansing and hygiene products.

  • Manufacturing businesses report to the local government, and importing businesses report to MFDS (Article 3, Cleansing and Hygiene Products Control Act).
  • An importer declares the products it imports for sale to MFDS, and they are inspected before customs procedures are completed; a test report from a specialised institution can replace some or all of the inspection (Article 8).
  • MFDS may set standards and specifications for their ingredients, manufacturing methods and uses (Article 10).
  • Labels show the product name, company name, date of manufacture and other particulars set by Prime Ministerial Decree, and nothing untrue, exaggerated or misleading (Articles 11 and 12).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the import declarations and inspection reports with each lot. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ManufacturerSafety verification, the report, labelling and substance registration.Verifications and test reports kept with each product.
ImporterSafety verification and reporting before import, labelling, and the MFDS import declaration for hygiene products.Verifications and declarations read and dated before the goods arrive.
BrandWhat the pack and advertising say.The label read against the required information, with restricted phrases flagged.
SellerNot selling products the Act prohibits from sale.Product documents ready for the retailer that asks.

National ministries and local government

Product law in South Korea is national. Each Act names the minister in charge, such as the Minister of Food and Drug Safety for food and cosmetics, and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources for electrical, consumer and children's products.

Many licences, reports and inspections under those Acts are handled by a Mayor or Do Governor or the head of a Si/Gun/Gu, so the local office named in the Act is often the one a business deals with.

Questions businesses ask

Which law covers household cleaning products in Korea?
The Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Control Act covers chemical products used in everyday living spaces. Dishwashing and produce detergents are cleansing and hygiene products under MFDS instead.
Which cleaning products need safety verification?
Those the minister has designated after a risk assessment. The designating notice names items such as cleaners, laundry detergents, bleaching agents, fabric softeners, coatings and air fresheners.
Who carries out the safety verification?
A testing and inspection institution designated under the Act, before the product is manufactured or imported. Verification lasts three years (Article 10).
Do I report the product after verification?
Yes. Product information, ingredients and content are reported to the minister, and changes to reported matters are reported too (Article 10(4) and (5)).
What must a cleaning product label show in Korea?
Name; manufacturer or importer name, address and contact; chemical substance information; weight or volume; precautions; and the reported matters, in Korean (Article 10(8)).
Can a label be in English as well as Korean?
Chinese characters or a foreign language may be added, but the Korean font is larger than the other languages (Article 10(8) and Article 7 of the Enforcement Decree).
Can I call a detergent eco-friendly in Korea?
Phrases such as "non-toxic" or "environment-friendly" may not be used on designated products, unless the product has eco-label certification (Article 34).
How are dishwashing detergents imported?
The importer reports its business to MFDS, then declares each import, which is inspected before customs procedures are completed (Articles 3 and 8, Cleansing and Hygiene Products Control Act).
Do the chemicals in my product need registering?
Under K-REACH, substances manufactured or imported at 1 tonne or more a year are registered before manufacture or import, with reported grace periods for phase-in substances (Article 10).
Is child-resistant packaging required?
The safety standards can include container and package standards to protect children, and the designating notice sets child-resistant packaging for some items (Article 9; Notice).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in South Korea?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, from Korean law and the regulators' own pages. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in South Korea and what your paperwork needs to show.

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